Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Come for the Cleansing!"

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18
   

Scripture contains some beautiful “Comes” – God’s gracious invitations. Through Isaiah He exposes the rebellion and guilt, the insincere offerings and prayers, of His Old Testament people. He pictures them lifting hands in prayer – hands full of blood. Then Isaiah offers the invitation of God, “Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Those blood-stained hands will be washed clean by God’s forgiving action.

These words strike to our hearts. We also rebel against God in many ways, walking from Him to the lure of our selfish goals – money, prestige, power, success. We come to worship piously only to raise sin-stained hands in prayer. He pleads with us, “Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

We know how God’s forgiving action works. We see the blood-stained hands of the Son of God. His nail-pierced hands bore our sins as He died on the cross. We have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Through Baptism we experience a daily cleansing of our sins as we live the life of repentance. How precious those promises to our ears: Come for cleansing!

[Soldier4Christ]

"Penetrating the Fog"

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
   

I just returned from driving my daughter to high school through a thick fog. Heavy, dense fog. Visibility zero. My headlights barely penetrated. Cars crept along. Drivers strained to see a few feet ahead. What can penetrate the fog?

Life often seems shrouded in a dense, thick fog. So much confusion in our world. Knotty problems. Moral breakdown. Strident voices. Many conflicting opinions, but no solid answers. Uncertainty regarding the future of the world, our country, our town, and our lives. What can penetrate the fog?

The psalmist suggests, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Though afflicted with much suffering and tempted to go astray by the wicked, the psalmist continues to trust in the promises and guidance of God’s unchanging Word.

The apostle John further identifies that light with the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:4-5). “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1:9). Yes, the light of God’s Word penetrates the fog of sin and death by revealing Jesus Christ as Savior.

The fog remains. We admit the inadequacy of our feeble efforts to penetrate the sin, confusion, and uncertainty of our world. But we turn to God’s Word. In it God shines forth to penetrate the fog with His Son, the crucified and risen Savior. We can see again. We can drive confidently through the fog and even light the way for others.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Time of Trouble: Terror and Pestilence"

You will not fear the terror of night … nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. Psalm 91:5-6
   

The psalmist continues describing times of trouble with the imagery of the terror of night and the pestilence that stalks in the darkness.

We still fear darkness. When a violent storm cuts the electric power supply, we grope for candles. A small child calls out in the night for reassurance.

Dread diseases of mysterious origin strike fear in our hearts. A few years ago Legionnaire’s disease caused much concern nationwide. AIDS, with its terminal nature and contagious character, has created panic worldwide. Sometimes we feel that nothing is safe to eat, drink, wear, drive, or breathe! Sickness, whether acute or chronic, creates a time of trouble which drains our energies and brings discouragement.

We also face spiritual and supernatural troubles. Satan attacks at every opportunity, including at night when we are alone with our thoughts. He wants to rob us of peace by magnifying our guilt. We cannot handle physical or spiritual trouble on our own.

But the psalmist suggests the remedy: He will call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15). God promises to shelter us from danger. He sent His Son to penetrate the darkness as the Light of the world. Triumphant on the cross in the darkness of Good Friday, Jesus lives with us and in us. No physical or spiritual trouble can separate us from His love. He also prepares a heavenly home for us who believe in Him as Savior. Whether endangered by the fowler’s snare or attacked by pestilence in the darkness, we have God as our very present Help in time of trouble.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Time of Trouble: The Fowler’s Snare"

Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare. Psalm 91:3
   

The psalms provide a treasure chest of practical help for the Christian life. Psalm 91 especially addresses the believer in time of trouble. The psalmist writes, “Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare.” Unsuspecting birds faced serious trouble when a wooden cage was dropped on top of them. Hopelessly trapped, they could not escape.

We are often trapped by our own troubles just like the unsuspecting bird. Other people set traps for us, and sometimes we set traps for ourselves. We may choose the wrong kind of friends and so be led into sin. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.

We develop a hectic pace of life. Work takes long hours if we expect to advance in rank and salary. Social engagements crowd our calendar – part of the good life, we think. We encourage the children to participate in sports, music lessons, and school events. We struggle to make our home and yard a showplace. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.

We spend money to buy necessities and then luxuries which we call necessities. We borrow money to pay for house, cars, boats, and campers. Then we get additional jobs to earn extra money to pay off our loans. But we can’t keep up. The fowler’s snare drops on us. Trapped.

The psalmist talks about God’s rescue. “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4). The mother bird stretches out her wings to protect you from the snare of the fowler. God has rescued you by sending His Son to break forever the snares of sin and death by His death on the cross. When Satan thought Jesus was trapped, the Son won the victory and burst the bonds of death on the third day. Freed from our self-made traps, we are gathered under the warm, protective wings of the Almighty.

[Soldier4Christ]

"God’s Building Project"

So the wall was completed … in fifty-two days … They realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Nehemiah 6:15-16
   

Building project complete! Walls rebuilt in 52 days. A major accomplishment. Despite the constant opposition, Nehemiah completes the city walls. Yes, the people build with all their hearts. Yes, Nehemiah is a capable leader. But something far more significant leads to this amazing result.

God is the builder! He wants those walls completed. He wants the faithful remnant to praise Him again in Jerusalem. God’s people know who deserves credit. They assemble to hear Ezra read the Law from daybreak to noon (see Nehemiah 8:2-3). They then thank and praise God in celebration with Nehemiah’s reminder: “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). And even the enemies of the Jews must recognize the rebuilt city walls as God’s building project. We are told they lose their self-confidence, “because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

When we participate in the physical building of a church or Christian school, we certainly rejoice when the project is complete. When we see a Christian fellowship growing in size, depth, and closeness, we feel a sense of accomplishment. Yes, people work together with all their heart. Yes, faithful pastors and lay members provide good leadership. But something far more significant is involved.

God is the builder! He wants His church to grow and serve Him. He built His church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief Cornerstone. Christ gave His life for the church. We assemble to hear His life-changing Word and to celebrate God’s grace in sacramental worship. Even enemies of the Gospel have to recognize that “this work has been done with the help of our God.”

[Soldier4Christ]

"Building with the Heart"

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half of its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Nehemiah 4:6
   

What a task! Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The city lies in shambles. After years of captivity in Babylon, a small group returns to the scene of former glory. Where to begin? Led by Nehemiah, the people begin to rebuild the city walls. Opposition mounts. Nearby peoples threaten to attack every day. The Jews have to build with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. What obstacles!

But the walls are getting built because the people work with all their heart. Previously Judah’s heart strayed from God to idolatry and personal gain. But now, chastened by captivity and repentant, the returning exiles desire with all their heart to restore the sacred city as a monument of praise to God. They are willing to struggle and sacrifice to accomplish the task.

What building does God have in mind for you? A church? A Christian school? Your own Christian family? Whether or not brick and mortar are involved, God calls us to build. What a task! Money seems lacking and relationships often lie in shambles, with much brokenness, misunderstanding, hurt, and jealously. Opposition mounts as other people say it can’t be done. What obstacles!

But we can build when we work together with all our heart. When our hearts stray from God, we get wrapped up in selfish desires and seek material gain. But God shatters our self-serving dreams and points us to His heart, a heart willingly broken on the cross in payment for our sins. Chastened, repentant, restored, forgiven, we begin to build. God gives us a heart for the work. The building proceeds to the glory of God. God’s kingdom comes. His church is built into a temple of living stones. What joy to participate with all our heart!

[Soldier4Christ]

"Waiting for the Morning"

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23
   

When the well-known preacher Peter Marshall had his second heart attack, he said softly to his wife Catherine as he was being carried out of the house on a stretcher, “See you in the morning, darling.” That dark night ended in the morning of eternal life, for Peter Marshall died at the hospital. His wife treasured those words in the days of grief which followed.

Jeremiah writes about the Lord’s compassions being new every morning. Precious words of comfort in the middle of the gloomiest book in the Bible – Lamentations. Jeremiah faces continual ridicule and persecution. He is imprisoned, later beaten and thrown in a well. He agonizes, doubts himself, and turns bitter. The root of his bitterness is self-pity. A dark night of the soul.

We often walk in darkness. Externally, we experience illness, family problems, problems on the job. The more we try to be faithful, the more the problems mount. We feel rejected and persecuted. No one seems to understand. At root we are engaging in self-pity. A dark night of the soul.

Jesus Christ understands our dark night of the soul, for He experienced it in Gethsemane and at Calvary, where He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). He waited on the Father and won the victory over the powers of darkness. On Easter morning He rose triumphantly from the grave. With Jeremiah we who have experienced God’s love can say the words of our text and add, as did Jeremiah, “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26). Whether awaiting a new day of God’s mercy or the eternal morning of heaven, we can say with Peter Marshall, “See you in the morning, darling.”

[Soldier4Christ]

"A Time For Every Purpose"

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4 (KJV)
   

If you ever get to India, one of the “don’t miss” things to see is the Taj Mahal. It is the beautiful final resting place Shah Jahan built for his beloved wife. Of course, if you’re a native rather than a tourist, you might skip the Taj Mahal and prefer to visit the gravesite of Basanta Roy.

Basanta Roy will be happy to show it to you.

Mr. Roy, who claims to be 103 years old, has recently become quite the tourist destination as hundreds visit him in his hometown of Patna, India. Mr. Roy’s claim to fame is simply this; he has spent the last six years lying inside his own grave waiting to die. Of course, it’s pretty boring spending every hour of every day of every week in a grave, even if it is a nice place. That’s why, during the daylight hours, Mr. Roy cleans his final resting spot so he might be prepared for that unknown hour when death will come and reunite him with his long-deceased wife.

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few people are doing pretty much the same thing Mr. Roy is doing. No, they don’t lie in an empty grave, nor are they waiting for death to come. That would be too extreme, too morbid.

On the other hand, there are many people who do spend their lives praying the future would hurry up and get here. There is the worker who on Tuesday is preoccupied with the coming weekend. That worker is wishing away half of his week. There is the student who, when school begins in August or September, has his eyes focused on summer vacation. Should I talk about the bride who sees nothing other than her wedding day, and the groom who is focused on the time when the endless planning and running around will be at an end? There is the mother who looks forward to the time when her children will go off to school, and the other mother who can hardly wait for her children to return.

All of these folks have one thing in common with Mr. Roy. They are longing for an unknown tomorrow and ignoring God’s great gift of today. What a contrast to the writer of Ecclesiastes who knew every moment God gives to His people has a purpose. Today, this moment, is a gift the crucified and ever-living Savior has entrusted to your care. Please, make use of it, in laughter or tears, in joy or sorrow, in witness or in prayer. Don’t let this day, God’s gift of this day, slip away unsavored and unappreciated.

[sister juliet]

The Taste Test

    Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pt.2:2-3).

Many of us have been approached at a supermarket entrance by someone performing a taste test. They want us to test two or more products and then respond by telling them which product was the one that we liked the best. Its sometimes hard to distinguish one product from another if the products are extremely similar. But there are other times when we might be offered something that we like against something we do not really care for. Our response in the latter instance is usually much quicker and easier to make.
In Psalm 34:8, David encourages us, "O taste and see that the LORD [is] good: blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him." If we held a taste test between item "a" (The Lord), and item "b" (the world), which do you think would win? What we would discover might not surprise us, in fact, it would most likely sadden us. But consider the tasters in the test. They are people who have been enjoying item "b" (the world) for all their lives. Many have not tasted item "a" at all, and many who have, have done so incorrectly. In other words, you cannot get an accurate account of a new taste, while the old one lingers in your mouth. That is why it is necessary to repent, turn away from, those things you have been tasting all your life as we come to God. We cannot get a true representation of God's person while we cling to those things of the earth that tickle our taste buds.
Let me briefly illustrate. A good judge of a pie baking contest or chili cook-off will not go from one item directly to the next. He will taste one item and then use some means to clear his palate, some means that will clear his mouth of the taste of one item before proceeding to the next. This gives him a better representation of the taste of each with out confusing the lot. Let us then consider once more that we cannot truly taste of the fullness of God's goodness, while the taste of those things we have embraced that are not of Him still lingers.
To conclude, let us consider something else. The more we taste of God, the more our tastes will be transformed. The things that once tickled our taste buds will seem bitter or perhaps begin to make us gag or become sick to our stomachs. Many people can think of a time where they had gotten sick enough to vomit, and can associate that time with a particular food. They often lose the taste for that food and never want to taste it again. In fact, the very idea of eating it often makes them nauseous. As we turn from the tastes of the world, clearing our palates of that taste--so to speak, and we taste of the goodness of God, we will begin to be repulsed by the mere thought of speaking, thinking or doing things we once embraced. Living as a Christian becomes much easier when we savor the things that are of God, and sin is so much easier to gain victory over when all it ever does is leave a bad taste in our mouths.

    Bread of deceit [is] sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

[def]

"A Time For Every Purpose"

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4 (KJV)
   

If you ever get to India, one of the “don’t miss” things to see is the Taj Mahal. It is the beautiful final resting place Shah Jahan built for his beloved wife. Of course, if you’re a native rather than a tourist, you might skip the Taj Mahal and prefer to visit the gravesite of Basanta Roy.

Basanta Roy will be happy to show it to you.

Mr. Roy, who claims to be 103 years old, has recently become quite the tourist destination as hundreds visit him in his hometown of Patna, India. Mr. Roy’s claim to fame is simply this; he has spent the last six years lying inside his own grave waiting to die. Of course, it’s pretty boring spending every hour of every day of every week in a grave, even if it is a nice place. That’s why, during the daylight hours, Mr. Roy cleans his final resting spot so he might be prepared for that unknown hour when death will come and reunite him with his long-deceased wife.

Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few people are doing pretty much the same thing Mr. Roy is doing. No, they don’t lie in an empty grave, nor are they waiting for death to come. That would be too extreme, too morbid.

On the other hand, there are many people who do spend their lives praying the future would hurry up and get here. There is the worker who on Tuesday is preoccupied with the coming weekend. That worker is wishing away half of his week. There is the student who, when school begins in August or September, has his eyes focused on summer vacation. Should I talk about the bride who sees nothing other than her wedding day, and the groom who is focused on the time when the endless planning and running around will be at an end? There is the mother who looks forward to the time when her children will go off to school, and the other mother who can hardly wait for her children to return.

All of these folks have one thing in common with Mr. Roy. They are longing for an unknown tomorrow and ignoring God’s great gift of today. What a contrast to the writer of Ecclesiastes who knew every moment God gives to His people has a purpose. Today, this moment, is a gift the crucified and ever-living Savior has entrusted to your care. Please, make use of it, in laughter or tears, in joy or sorrow, in witness or in prayer. Don’t let this day, God’s gift of this day, slip away unsavored and unappreciated.

thank you ,thank you, Pastor Rogers..One moment at the time, every moment in gratitude, in faith ,that God is there He is Omnipresent He know every thing that is going on in my life ,,and yours and every human being on this planet,.and Jesus Christ died for every one of them,.Glory Glory for the ONE MOMEMT AT THE TIME it is a way of  adoration to our God .I love You father thank you Jesus..holy spirit let enjoy the moment here and now,Lets sing with the angels Holy!Holy!Holy!

[def]

thank you ,thank you, Pastor Rogers..One moment at the time, every moment in gratitude, in faith ,that God is there He is Omnipresent He know every thing that is going on in my life ,,and yours and every human being on this planet,.and Jesus Christ died for every one of them,.Glory Glory for the ONE MOMEMT AT THE TIME it is a way of  adoration to our God .I love You father thank you Jesus..holy spirit let enjoy the moment here and now,Lets sing with the angels Holy!Holy!Holy!

the WEEEEHEEE below is all i have to express lets be joyfull here .the ransom is paid .we are winners,please don`t take it as disgraceful OK thank you..love in jesus byebye.

[Soldier4Christ]

thank you ,thank you, Pastor Rogers..One moment at the time, every moment in gratitude, in faith ,that God is there He is Omnipresent He know every thing that is going on in my life ,,and yours and every human being on this planet,.and Jesus Christ died for every one of them,.Glory Glory for the ONE MOMEMT AT THE TIME it is a way of  adoration to our God .I love You father thank you Jesus..holy spirit let enjoy the moment here and now,Lets sing with the angels Holy!Holy!Holy!

Amen!

[def]

Amen!

Pastor Rogers tell me please ,Am I operating the write way,  am i get it,am i doing it right?? on the site..

[Soldier4Christ]

You're doing just fine, sister. There is nothing wrong with they way you are doing here.

[def]

You're doing just fine, sister. There is nothing wrong with they way you are doing here.

pheuff!!thank you.